He’s admired as one of the Book of Mormon’s greatest and most righteous heroes, but a closer reading suggests that veneration is misplaced. — Captain Moroni is the poster child for the über masculine Mormon man. Literally. Teens often plaster this painting (below) on their wall. Note the near-bursting biceps, the monstrous shoulders, the armour, the oozing gruffness: In theological settings, this character from the Book of Mormon is held up as an exemplar…

The story of how the Mulekites become Nephite in the Book of Mormon seems clean, but one interpretation suggests something more sinister. — This is the first in a series of literary essays informed by the growing conversation on coloniality and race in the Book of Mormon. …

A year after declaring my disengagement from full activity in Mormonism, I know it’s time to stop attending completely. This is why. — Last January, I publicly proclaimed that I was disengaging from full activity in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because I could no longer reconcile my Mormon faith with my gay identity. …

My Mormon faith was a check-list, an external prescription. No one ever said I could construct my own faith that fed me—a self-prescription. — This is the fifth in a series of critical reflections on LDS theology as I navigate my shifting faith. I offer my thoughts not as an act of retaliation, rebellion or disparagement, but as contributions to the growing community of Mormon thinkers who want the Church of Jesus Christ of…

The most unexpected discovery of my post-church, deconstructed faith life is my indifference to the need to know what is true—this is a liberation from the ridiculous certainties of ‘testimony’. — This is the fourth in a series of critical reflections on LDS theology as I navigate my shifting faith. I offer my thoughts not as an act of retaliation, rebellion or disparagement, but as contributions to the growing community of Mormon thinkers who want the Church of Jesus Christ of…

For the first time in my life, I’m on the other side, being explained and rationalized by the ‘faithful’. I used to use those narratives too. — This is the third in a series of critical reflections on LDS theology as I navigate my shifting faith. I offer my thoughts not as an act of retaliation, rebellion or disparagement, but as contributions to the growing community of Mormon thinkers who want the Church of Jesus Christ of…

The sacrament meeting is the spiritual apex of the Sabbath for Latter-day Saints, but its one-size-fits-all format doesn’t resonate with everyone. — This is the second in a series of critical reflections on LDS theology as I navigate my shifting faith. I offer my thoughts not as an act of retaliation, rebellion or disparagement, but as contributions to the growing community of Mormon thinkers who want the Church of Jesus Christ of…

Mormonism embraces personal revelation and individual responsibility for gaining a witness of the Divine and of truth, but this bottom-up, almost democratic process is fact-checked by a top-down hierarchy that limits the faith’s potential and funnels members’ personal spiritual discernment. — This is the first in a series of critical reflections on LDS theology as I navigate my shifting faith. I offer my thoughts not as an act of retaliation, rebellion or disparagement, but as contributions to the growing community of Mormon thinkers who want the Church of Jesus Christ of…

A few people have already asked me how I feel about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ rescinding of its ‘November 5 policy’, which officially defined gay marriage as ‘apostasy’ and banned the children of same-sex couples from being baptized or blessed until they turned 18 (and renounced…